I’m not a big fan of James Bond movies. I enjoyed Skyfall but I admit to having been bored at times. Why? A couple of reasons:
All in Action
Paul W.S. Anderson's RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION
I really enjoyed the previous Resident Evil movie so I looked forward to this one. I decided to see it in the theater and spent the extra $4 for a 3D ticket. Was it worth it?
Gareth Evans' THE RAID: REDEMPTION
In the Jakarta slums a derelict apartment building looms.
Len Wiseman's TOTAL RECALL
The new TOTAL RECALL is a fun movie. It’s nowhere near as gratuitously gory and twisted as Paul Verhoeven’s great Arnold Schwartzenneger version, but it makes up for that with performances, visuals, and pacing that match and in some cases surpass the original.
David Twohy's CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK
But the real star of this movie is the look.
Hayao Miyazaki's LUPIN THE 3RD: THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO
This is Miyazaki’s first feature films. It portends a lot of what’s to come in his career: dizzying action, vibrant color, clever stories, strong females, and humor.
Ridley Scott's “PROMETHEUS”
Is it Scott’s fault that all interstellar spacecraft now come equipped with handheld flamethrowers?
Joss Whedon's THE AVENGERS
THE AVENGERS is an OK piece of entertainment, I guess. Several times during the first hour I started to doze off.
Brad Bird's MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL
What a big, fun, goofy, and exciting film this is!
Daniel Espinosa's SAFE HOUSE
This formulaic spy thriller has one too many ridiculous shoot-outs and car chases to be credible.
Dennis Gansel's WE ARE THE NIGHT
This film is a good antidote to wimpy vampire movies.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
I enjoyed this a lot more than Part I which I found to be tedious and unengaging. This time the pace and excitement are unrelenting and occasionally spectacular.
Wow. What a movie:
Scott Charles Stewart's “PRIEST”
How can you possibly resist a gritty and bloody post-apocalyptic alternate-history vampire movie starring Paul Bettany, Christopher Plummer, Karl Urban, and Brad (“Wormtongue”) Dourif?
Jon Favreau's COWBOYS AND ALIENS
I loved this film. It’s a perfect demonstration of what I like in a popcorn film: fun, clever, interesting use of cliches, and lots of hats.
Disney's TANGLED
I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The characters are engaging, the story is clever, and the animation is absolutely positively gorgeous, at times almost breathtaking in its use of glowing color.
Zack Snyder’s SUCKER PUNCH
Bullet point review:
J.J. Abrams' SUPER 8
Back in my early days of reviewing films when my kids were growing up and still at home I created a special category called “Young People” where I placed movies that didn’t treat cinema kids like idiots or totally obsessed with sex and fart jokes.
Louis Leterrier's CLASH OF THE TITANS
I enjoyed this movie a lot but it could have been much better had more attention been devoted to character and story.
The Coen Brothers' TRUE GRIT
Readers of my book and movie review will know about my occasional hankering for a Western. It’s no surprise I was looking forward to this movie especially given my positive reaction to my recent discovery of the novel.